Recliner chair with leg rest



Nov. 7, 1950 A. B. BELL 2,528,995

RECLINER CHAIR WITH LEG REST Filed April 26, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 7, 1950 A. B. BELL RECLINER CHAIR WITH LEG REST Filed April 26, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 7, 1950 2,528,995 RECLINER CHAIR WITH LEG REST Alfred B. Bell, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Heywood-Wakefield Company, Gardner, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 26, 1945, Serial No. 590,346

9 Claims.

This invention relates to recliner chairs such as are used particularly in railway coaches or other vehicles. For journeys which include an overnight passage, it is desirable to have chairs I which are comfortable for a sitter and which can also be readily adjusted to accommodate the occupant in a recumbent or semi-recumbent position. It is also desirable to provide a suitable leg rest which is permanently attached to the chair but which can be stowed out of the way when not in use. This can be done by mounting the leg rest on a hinge which is coaxial with the hinge of the back rest itself, and by stowing the leg rest in a recess in the rear face of the back rest when not in use. This arrangement permits angular adjustment of the back rest without interference by or with the leg rest, regardless of whether the latter is stowed or in its position for use.

According to the present invention a recliner chair with a leg rest is provided with improved features for increased safety and comfort. For example, a buffer or cushioning mechanism is provided to ease the descent of the leg rest from its stowed position to its lowered position. Associated with this mechanism is a floating hinge which facilitates the operation of the leg rest. Improved construction of the main hinges is an additional feature.

These and other advantageous features will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the disclosure of the invention in the following description thereof and in the drawings, of which Figure l is a side elevation of a recliner chair with leg rest embodying the invention, a portion being broken away to show the working parts.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the ame.

sure 3 is a, side elevation of a chair in its reclined position with the leg rest in its lowered position.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary View, on a larger scale, of a portion of the mechanism shown in are 2, some of the parts being shown in section.

. Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

invention may be embodied in a chair having any desired type of base. In the drawings a simple, fixed base H is shown supporting stered with a customary inner spring structure for the comfort of the occupant. The back rest is supported by hinge elements which rock in aligned bearings 22 and 24 so that the back rest can be adjusted to various angles of inclination about its horizontal hinge axis. Each hinge element includes a short pivot shaft or axle member 26 designed and arranged to support the back rest without any connecting rod across the chair. The elimination of such a rod at the junction of the seat and back rest avoids possible discomfort to the occupant at that point.

A preferred construction for the hinge herein employed is shown in Fig. 6 where it will be seen that the pivot shaft 26 has a tapered inner portion fitting into a socket member 2?. A reduced size end extension of the pivot shaft 26 extends completely through the socket 2i and serves by means of a nut 3! to retain the pivot pin 26 in binding engagement with the said socket 21. Arms 28 and 30 are mounted rigidly on the socket member 21. The arm 28 extends upwardly and serves to support the back rest, and the arm 30 extends downwardly pivotally connecting the back rest, etc. to the frame I2. Thus when the back rest is swung back to its reclined position, the seat is simultaneously shifted forward to a more nearly horizontal position as indicated in Figure 1.

A foot rest 33 of any desired construction may be provided for use in the usual manner.

Nested in a recess in the rear face of the back. rest 20 is a leg rest 35 which is mounted to rock about the axis of the bearings 2 and 24 either with the back rest or independently thereof. At thelower end of the leg rest is a foot piece 31 approximately at right angles thereto. Brackets 38 extend from the foot piece to the main hinge axis, these brackets terminating in hubs 49 which rock on studs 42 as shown in Figure 6. The hubs are retained on the studs by any suitable means such as washers 43 and pins 4 3. The stud 42 projects from a cap 35 which is screw threaded or otherwise secured to the socket 21.

At the outer end of each axle 25 is a ball 54 which is fitted to rock in a, socket in the side wall Ii! or in a standard 56 between the two units of a double chair, only one of which is shown in Figure 2. These sockets are the bearings 22 and 24 hereinbefore referred to. A threaded collar 60 is adjustable to take up wear and to prevent any looseness of the ball 54 in its socket but to permit it to turn easily therein. If the collar becomes injured or excessively worn, it can be replaced by first disassembling .the pivot assembly and removing the collar from the axle member 26.

Since the back rest 20 and the leg rest 36 have the same rocking axis, they can rock together as a unit when the leg rest is stowed in the cavity in the back rest as indicated in Figure 1. -When the leg rest is to be put to use, it is swung down from its stowed position to an approximately horizontal position as shown in Figure 3. To support the leg rest in this position, a support member in the form of a bracket 62 extends down therefrom to rest upon the floor. The bracket 62 is U-shaped, the extremities thereof being hinged at 64 to the side edges of the leg rest 36 so that the bracket can fit against the side and bottom edges of the leg rest when the latter is stowed as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In order to swing the bracket automatically to its operative position when the leg rest is swung down from its stowed position, a link 68 at each side is pivotally attached at one end to an arm of the bracket 62, as at 10, the other end being pivotally attached to a floating block 12 which is'offset below and to the rear of the main hinge axis. The block has two studs 14 and 16 projecting through a slot 78 in a fixed arm 80. This arm is welded to a crossbar 82 of the chair pedestal. The two studs 14 and 16 serve as guides for the floating block 12 as it moves up and down the slot 18, and the upper stud 14 also serves as a pivot for the link 68. The block 12 has a laterally projecting ear 64 through which a rod 86 extends, the lower end of the rod being secured to the crossbar 32. An elevator spring 68 surrounds the rod 86 between the ear 84 and the crossbar 82, thus pressing the block 12 upward. When the leg rest is swung down from its stowed position to the intermediate position indicated by dotted lines in Figure '1, the stud 14 and its guide block 12 are forced down against the pressure of the elevator spring 88. It is thus evident that the spring 88 serves to maintain the leg rest yieldingly in place when in its stowed position. At some point during the further downward movement of the leg rest, the pressure of the links 68 on the arms of the bracket 62 at the pivot points causes the bracket to swing out from the leg rest to the approximately vertical position shown in Figure 3. In such position the bracket rests on'the floor and provides a firm I support for the leg rest.

To cushion the descent of the leg rest so as to prevent the bracket 62 from being banged against the floor, a spring device is provided for each link 68. This device comprises a compression spring 90 mounted on a guide rod 92 one end of which is pivoted at 94 to a short arm 96 which forms a bell crank with the bracket arm 62 so as to rock about the hinge axis 64. The rod 92 slides freely through a hole in an ear 96 which is secured to the link 68 at an intermediate point thereof. The spring 90 is compressed between the ear 98 and the end of the arm 96.

f It is evident from Figures 1 and 3 that when the bracket 62 swings out from the leg rest, as it must when the leg rest approaches its position for use, the springs 90 become further compressed and thus oppose the final downward movement of the leg rest. These springs also assist in lifting the leg rest when it is swung back to its stowed position in the back rest.

The cavity in the back rest is preferably made not only deep enough to receive the leg rest but also of maximum depth consistent with comfort so as to provide as much room as possible for the feet of the user of the leg rest, especially when the back rest is in its fully reclined position.

I claim:

1. A recliner chair comprising a seat frame, a back rest pivotally connected to said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally connected to said frame to rock about the same horizontal axis and projecting to the rear of said frame, a support member for said leg rest pivotally attached thereto, means for causing said support member to swing to a vertical position as the leg rest is swung down to its position for use, and cushioning means carried by said causing means for resiliently opposing the downward movement of said leg rest.

2. A recliner chair having a seat frame, a back rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock independently of the back rest, a slotted bracket extending upward from said frame, a floating pivot member having an axis offset from said hinge axis and movable up and down in said slot, spring means pressing said pivot member toward its uppermost position, a support bracket hinged to said leg rest and rockable from a position parallel therewith to a vertical position, means for causing said bracket to swing to its vertical position when the leg rest moves" to its lowered position, said means including a link pivoted at one end to said bracket and at the other end to said pivot member, and spring means resiliently opposing movement of said bracket toward its vertical position and thereby opposing movement of said leg rest toward its lowered position.

3. In a recliner chair having a frame and a back rest rockably mounted on the frame, a pivot assembly mounted on said back rest at each side thereof, and socket means on said frame cooperating with said pivot assemblies, each said pivot assembly comprising a hub member with a horizontal bore secured to the back rest, said bore having a tapering portion and a cylindrical portion of smaller diameter, and an axle member fitted and removably secured in said bore, said axle member having a portion projecting from said bore and terminating in a ball movably fitted within said socket means.

4. In a recliner chair having a frame, a back rest and a leg rest, means rockably attaching said back rest and leg rest to said frame, said means comprising socket bearings in said frame, and two pivot assemblies cooperating withsaid socket bearings, each said assembly comprising a hub member secured to said back rest and horizontally bored, an axle member removably secured in said hub member, said axle member having a portion projecting from the hub member and terminating in a ball'movably fitted in one of said socket bearings, a cap secured on said hub member, said cap having a horizontal stud projecting therefrom, and an element secured to said leg rest and journalledon said stud.

5. A recliner chair having a seat frame, a back rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock independently up and down through a limited range about the same axis, a fixed arm projecting up from said frame, a pivot member slidably attached to said arm, a support bracket pivotallyattached at one end to said leg rest, a link pivotally attached at one end to said bracket at an intermediate point thereof and at the other end to said slidable pivot member, and a spring pressing said pivot member upward, said bracket, pivot member and link being so constructed and arranged that when the leg rest is swung downward the link forces the pivot element downward against the pressure of said spring, said spring thus helping to counteract the force of gravity on said leg rest and the support bracket is rocked away from a position in the plane of the leg rest to engage the floor.

6. A recliner chair comprising a seat frame, a backrest pivotally connected to said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally connected to said frame to rock about the same horizontal axis, a support bracket hinged to said leg rest and rockable from a position parallel therewith to a vertical position, a guide member on said frame, a pivot element movable up and down a limited distance in said guide member, a link having its lower end connected to said pivot and its upper end connected to said support bracket, and spring means pressing said pivot toward its uppermost position.

'7. A recliner chair comprising a seat frame, a back rest pivotally connected to said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally attached to said frame so as to be rockable about said axis, a support bracket hinged to said leg rest and rockable from a position parallel therewith to a vertical position, a slotted guide member mounted on said frame, a block slidably mounted on said guide member, said block having an element projecting through said slot, a link pivotally attached at one end to said support bracket and at the other end to said block, and spring means acting through said link to oppose downward rocking movement of said leg rest.

8. A recliner chair having a seat frame, a back rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock about a horizontal axis, a leg rest pivotally mounted on said frame to rock independently of the back rest, a slotted bracket extending upward from said frame, a floating pivot member having an axis offset from said horizontal axis and movable up and down in said slot, a support bracket hinged to said leg rest and rockable from a position parallel therewith to a vertical position, connecting means for causing said bracket to swing to its vertical position when the leg rest moves to its lowered position, said connecting means including a link pivoted at one end to said bracket and at the other end to said pivot member, spring means pressing said pivot member toward its uppermost position and thus resiliently opposing downward movement of said leg rest through the upper portion of its range, and complementary spring means attached to said support bracket and link resiliently opposing movement of said bracket toward its vertical position and simultaneously opposing movement of said leg rest toward its lowered position.

9. A structure as specified in claim 8 in which the two spring means cooperate in resiliently opposing downward movement of the said leg rest to its lowered position, thus causing the leg rest to be retained in stowed position when manually placed there and also causing the force of gravity upon the leg rest to be partially counterbalanced as the rest is being lowered or raised.

ALFRED B. BELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 445,946 Cary Feb. 3, 1891 500,792 Asker July 4, 1893 1,081,590 Dyke Dec. 16, 1913 1,548,334 Sebell Aug. 4, 1925 1,588,692 Belden June 15, 1926 1,883,867 Bayer Oct. 25, 1932 2,018,828 Bell Oct. 29, 1935 2,098,861 Bunevac Sept. 21, 1937 2,284,129 Caesar May 26, 1942 

